“We would expect a continuing sequence of magnitude fives, magnitude fours to happen in relatively the same location, with that activity spreading out over distance in the coming days and weeks,” GNS Science seismologist Bill Fry said.

Frequent earthquakes in New Zealand are due to the country’s location on the boundary between two tectonic plates – the Pacific and the Australian.

The country experiences around 14,000 earthquakes each year, most of which are small but around 100-150 are large enough to be felt.

In February 2011, a devastating 6.3 earthquake hit New Zealand’s South Island, killing nearly 200 people.